The tender for the construction of the National Military Memorial Cemetery caused a scandal online. The winner was a company that was registered the day after the tender was announced. The Ministry of Veterans Affairs published a statement from the National Military Memorial Cemetery explaining the construction tender, Komersant ukrainskyi
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“On 1 August 2024, the Prozorro system determined the winner of the tender for the construction of the 1st stage of the National Military Memorial Cemetery. It was the Building USA consortium with a bid of UAH 1,759,401,657.00,” the National Military Memorial Cemetery explained.
They noted that the Building USA consortium is a temporary association of enterprises created to implement a specific project.
“This is a common practice that does not contradict the law. And in this situation, the business has united to participate in such a large-scale project as the creation of the National Military Memorial Cemetery,” the statement said.
The National Military Memorial Cemetery noted that the consortium members have considerable experience in implementing construction projects, having been established and operating since 1996, 2006 and 2014.
“They are not one-day companies, but have dozens of completed projects in their portfolio. For example, the Consortium members, in particular, implemented projects to reconstruct the first stage of the Holodomor Victims Memorial Complex in Ukraine with the construction of the first and second stages of the National Museum “Holodomor Victims Memorial” in Kyiv. Major repairs were carried out on the Bashtanka-Bereznehuvate local public road in Mykolaiv region,” the state agency explained.
In addition, in connection with the information that appeared in the media about the possible possession of a Russian passport by one of the co-owners of the consortium, the State Institution “National Military Memorial Cemetery” asked the Belding UA Consortium to provide appropriate explanations.
“It is important to note that the contract has not yet been signed, and it is scheduled to be concluded on 6 August 2024. It should be noted that today in Ukraine, according to the OpenData register, there are 320 consortia formed to implement targeted programmes, scientific, technical, construction projects, etc.”, the government agency summed up.
It is worth noting that the state budget of Ukraine plans to allocate the largest amount of money among all the above tenders for the construction of the first stage of the cemetery – more than UAH 1 billion 801 million 364 thousand. According to the published documentation, this money will be used to remove shrubbery, uproot stumps, carry out earthworks, drainage, build foundations and monolithic channels, install walls, ceilings, ladders, and more.
The contractors are not stopping their plans only at the first stage of construction and have already published a tender for the second stage, according to which contractors will have to develop design and estimate documentation for the construction of a cemetery in Fastiv district for UAH 37 million.
What is the National Military Memorial Cemetery?
The National Military Memorial Cemetery was established in 2022 “to honour and perpetuate the memory of the fallen and deceased Defenders of Ukraine”. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. The main tasks of the National Military Memorial Cemetery are: construction of the National Military Memorial Cemetery itself, its maintenance and protection, organisation of honourable burial of the deceased and installation of tombstones, memorial plaques and memorial plaques.
The National Military Cemetery as a memorial complex will be located on 260 hectares. This land plot will be used to build a military cemetery, a ceremonial square, a house of mourning, a crematorium, and a museum and exhibition complex.
Local residents oppose the construction of the National Military Memorial Cemetery. According to them, when clearing the territory for the cemetery, young forests are destroyed. Also, this area allegedly has a complex groundwater system and burials can contaminate everything around.